This is a short clip from a longer video by Dr. Lise Eliot which talks about the different toy interests in boys and girls. Her observation is that at age one boys and girls will play with the same toys, but by age three that all changes. We’re slowly making progress as girls now feel it’s alright to play with toys that were aimed at boys in the past like construction sets — but not the other way around. Read more…
I had such high hopes for the Meiji Poporon Strawberry Cookie but alas even with my sweet tooth I couldn’t eat more than just a few of these bite sized saccharine treats. They have puffy wheat outside and a super sweet strawberry filling on the inside as shown in the packaging. And as for the packaging it was slick, but I was a bit let down at the lack of cute illustrations that would have given it that extra something: Read more…
To celebrate the European Soccer Championships the Italian anime inspired brand Tokidoki collaborated with sporting goods maker Mikasa to create this limited edition soccer ball. Only 1,000 have been manufactured worldwide and they look quite playful: Read more…
If you’re too poor to afford an internet toy like the Chumby (which still costs $200) the next best thing may be the Pet’z (PEZ) PET-6008-PK Sandra animated alarm clock which costs about $32 plus shipping from Japan. This toy pig does double duty by acting as an alarm clock and virtual pet (which will get angry if you don’t feed it). The pink critter has the ability to produce animal sounds and features nine types of animated facial expressions: Read more…
The 49th All Japan Model Hobby Show will be finishing up this Sunday in Japan, the first two days of the event are for the trade but over the weekend the show opens up their doors to the public. One of the things I’ve always loved about Japanese toys and hobby kits is the wonderful level of detail and craftsmanship. There’s a wide range of old toys (i.e. trains, planes and automobiles) but every so often you’ll notice an anime themed knickknack. For example shown above is Hatsune Miku themed radio controlled BMW car, and below is a set of trucks which feature anime characters on the side (which was part of a larger set that included a train set): Read more…
The old school Alien Facehugger was a nasty creature: A nasty parasitoid that makes contact with the hosts mouth and wraps its tail around the victims throat. However this cuter version of the Alien Facehugger is made out of plush and just wants to be your friend (and to amuse your friends at parties): Read more…
Lauren Gregg is an illustrator/animator from Athens, Georgia who has created a wonderful series of paintings which pay tribute to several genres of nerds in a cartoony style. All of these illustrations are available on Etsy as limited edition prints, shown above is Trekkie Nerd, and what follows below are just a few nerds from her collection: Read more…
What makes One Piece (ワンピース) so appealing is that the characters aren’t stiff but cartoony and fun. This new set of One Piece Portrait of Pirates Excellent Model Mild Straw Theater Figures picks up on this and pushes the character designs even further as collectable figures by making the head of each character just a bit bigger and cuter. This collection includes Monkey D. Luffy (shown above), Roronoah Zoro looking grumpy and a happy smiling Nami: Read more…
The Toyota Automobile Museum (located in Nagakute Town, Aichi Prefecture, Japan) will be running a special exhibit on “The Car and Comics” from October 10th until March 7th, 2010. The exhibit will feature many autos from various popular manga titles and anime series like Initial D, Detective Conan, Speed Racer and my favorite the Lupin III film Castle of Cagliostro. Here’s a guide to the exhibit from the official museum website: Read more…
K-On! (けいおん!) candy is hitting the store shelves in Japan for sweet toothed otaku. The candy inside of the cool guitar packaging are chocolate and strawberry marshmallow treats (which are not in the shape of a guitar). Although some of the boxes include a Yui Hirasawa t-shirt treat at random. Read more…
A line of Lucky Star toys with a Macross theme (that’s Robotech for you American fanboys) is due to hit stores in Akihabara on September 26th. This photo series shows a preview of these goodies which are put out by Banpresto and will be awarded on some sort of lottery system: Read more…
Looking back at it I think Snoopy is one of the few places in pop culture where World War I was a regular running theme. Having spent a childhood growing up on World War II films and TV shows it was odd to see Snoopy make reference to the oddly named Sopwith Camel aircraft which was so oddly named that it made me run to the library. Shown above (and in the video below) is a Flying Ace Snoopy USB Hub from Japan which will entertain you with beagle feats of bravery. Read more…
Summer is just about over but for a hardcore fanboy it’s never too late for anime themed flip-flops! These new flip-flops feature the characters from K-On! (けいおん!) and man are they too cute: Read more…
I think Star wars jumped the shark the minute Lucas came up with the Ewoks concept, and I guess it’s to the credit of Final Fantasy that it took them all that time to introduce the ever so cute Tarutaru race. Shown above and below are the Final Fantasy XI Taru Taru Trading Arts Figures which feature Ajido-Marujido, Star Sibyl, Robel-Akbel and Shantotto who “looks to the heavens when she laughs”: Read more…
The purist in me hates the ideas of giant frogs wandering around the planet Dagobah distracting poor Luke Skywalker as he tries to learn the ways of the Jedi from master Yoda. Yet the fact that I can imagine this silly scenario means the fanboy in me loves this! If I had this in my childhood this would be a great set for an epic Super 8mm film project where Jedi knights do battle with giant bullfrogs. If you wish to live out this cinematic fantasy yourself the Dagobah Frog Habitat is available via ThinkGeek.
Despite having no mouth Hello Kitty has taken a huge bite out of America, yet most mundanes have no clue who Doraemon is! Example: When I came across this cute Doraemon flash light it was sadly listed as a “Space Kitty Rechargeable Flash Light”. Now looking at this site it’s clear to me that I’ve committed the crime of just shining the light on all things Sanrio — so here’s a quick intro to Doraemon, the other Japanese kitty you should know:Read more…
Shown above is the GeGe no Kitaro Original Version posable figure which goes on sale in October. It’s amazing for me to think that the character of GeGeGe no Kitaro has been around since 1959 yet he’s never become well known in the United States. Kitaro is a demon spirit who was born in a cemetery; his trademark look is that he’s missing one eye which he cover up with his hair. Since his manga introduction he’s gone on to star in about six anime series, a PlayStation game and two live action films. Here are the opening titles from his 1968 anime series which hold up rather well: Read more…
The Terminator Salvation Real Arm Figure can also double as a very impressive back scratcher in addition to serving as a fine conversation piece that can be placed strategically on your coffee table to baffle mundane house guests! This nifty goodie is being manufactured in Japan, but it won’t shop until December — however pre-orders are currently being accepted.
Even though she doesn’t have a mouth Hello Kitty can serve you well when making meals: This Hello Kitty kitchen timer can not only time mark the start and stop points of your gourmet galavanting — but kitty also doubles as a USM memory stick! So she can hold up to 2 gigs of your recipes while helping you cook up a storm — hard to top that, no? Read more…
I think I discovered The Romantic Gift Shop sometime in the 90s by pure accident while wandering around Chinatown. Located at 151 Mott Street in New York City this little shop was an amazing oasis of everything Sanrio! Frankly the store was designed for the more youthful residents of Chinatown who were looking for stationery goodies, but if you were a Hello Kitty fiend this little gem was one of the best kept secrets in all of the city. Read more…
Fashion is ever changing and Hello Kitty understands this! This adorable Hello Kitty Optical Mouse features three changeable face plates so you can alter the look of of our mouse every day: Read more…
This vintage 1986 commercial shows off the education values of the then new Teddy Ruxpin Adventure Series. Teddy was first produced just a year before this spot aired and was a marketing powerhouse: Created by Ken Forsse the bear would move his mouth while reading stories which were recorded on audio cassette tapes. The toy would do so well that by 1987 an animated series The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin would run for another two years: Read more…
This fall Dark Horse will be bringing out a line of toys based on the 1997 Tim Burton book The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories. Shown above is Toxic Boy and below is Oyster Boy, these two go on sale on December 9th and better yet the original sculptures for these figures will go on display at Museum of Modern Art in New York City come November! Read more…
